Avulse- I Am The Liquor

Avulse is a one man black metal band from Maine. I Am The Liquor is their second full-length since the project started in 2009. It features ten tracks of relentless, fast paced black metal. Clocking in at just over thirty minutes I Am The Liquor gets straight down to business. Though the album features a few subtle moments, the chaotic moments outweigh them by a long shot.

The guitar playing on this record is full speed ahead for the most part. The distortion seeps from the speakers in heavy doses and the alcohol fueled riffs come like constant waves of attacks. The delivery is fairly sloppy and blends well with the raw production. The riffs are simple and repetitive for the most part, creating a hypnotic blast of pulsating distortion at almost every turn. Though the sloppy playing works for the most part, on the track "Naked In Flame/Black Heaven" it doesn't fare quite as well. The track is by no means bad, in fact it may be one of the best on the album but the long sequence where the guitar plays solo would've been much more effective if it was played with precision. Still it remains one of the best moments here and I can only imagine what it would be like played cleanly.

The shrieks and wails of Diseased fade to the background on I Am The Liquor. This contributes to the hypnotic feel that was previously mentioned. They also seem to be a bit distorted, which makes them blend in really well with the guitar tone. One of the only gripes I have is that some tracks end very abruptly. An example of this would be "I've Lost the Stars". Right when the song seems to be getting started it just stops. This issue is a little detrimental to the albums flow, luckily this is the only section featured that stands-out much.

Overall I Am The Liquor meets my expectations. This is a solid black metal album with a few surprising moments to keep you interested. If you can't handle lots of distortion or a drum machine than this may not be for you, but if you can deal with that than this is definitely worth a listen. Some potential is certainly shown here. Recommended for fans of the rawness.